Stock photo of the Atos logo
Atos announced on Monday that it had received four proposals from different investors as part of its financial restructuring procedure, with the French IT group saying it wanted to find a solution by the end of the month.
In a press release, Atos announced that it had received financial proposals from a group of bondholders and banks respectively; OnePoint, a company controlled by David Layani, the group’s main shareholder, in consortium with Butler Industries; and EP Equity Investment, a fund controlled by Daniel Kretinsky.
A fourth offer, submitted by Bain Capital, was not accepted because it “did not meet the company’s stated objectives of taking into account its entire scope,” Atos said.
The group intends to decide by May 31 on one of the restructuring offers to reach a final agreement by July.
This restructuring, Atos warns, “will likely involve radical changes to the company’s capital structure and (…) a massive dilution of Atos’ existing shareholders.”
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Atos shares were highly volatile, falling 0.18% to 2.17 euros at 07:51 GMT, after jumping nearly 10% at the opening of the session.
The stock has lost more than 69% of its value since the start of the year.
PROGRESS OF DISCUSSIONS
The group also confirmed having signed a first contract of 100 million euros relating to its revolving credit and term loan facilities, while reporting progress in its discussions with banks and the French State on the 350 million euros of interim financing remaining.
Atos also specifies that it has initiated discussions with the French State Participation Agency (APE) concerning the intention expressed by the government to acquire the activities of Advanced Computing, Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products of its BDS division.
The restructuring proposals are compatible with the non-binding letter of intent received from the government, he adds.
The group said last week that it needed 1.1 billion euros in liquidity to finance its activity over the period 2024-2025, compared to 600 million euros previously announced, due to changes in market conditions.
Specialist in IT consulting, Atos secures communications for the army and the French secret services. It also manufactures servers for supercomputers capable of processing large quantities of data for research or to develop the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
It also manages data and cybersecurity for the Paris Olympic Games which will take place from July 26 to August 11.
Once a technological flagship integrated into the CAC 40 and led by the current European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, Atos has grown through acquisitions but has made a series of strategic errors against a backdrop of unstable governance.
(Written by Augustin Turpin and Kate Entringer)